Suggestion for Paver stone steps?
#1
09-06-12, 06:15 AM
Suggestion for Paver stone steps?
I have a horrible front step that was built by the previous owner of the house and want to fix it. The main problem is the difference in height of the steps. The first step is 6" high which is fine, but the next step is 10" high. I'm thinking of possibly adding another step in between. I have 16" to work with, but 3 - 6" steps won't work. I'm willing to rip it all out an use other stones. Not willing to do concrete. I'm confused can someone help?
#2
09-06-12, 06:46 AM
Group Moderator
Around 2000 in the US the code was revised so that 7 3/4" is the maximum allowable riser height I don't know Canadian codes but I assume they are similar. So, you are correct in planning to turn it into three steps. It's hard to guess the tread's depth from the photo but it does not look long enough to simply stick in another step. The whole stair will probably have to be rebuilt.
#3
09-06-12, 07:19 AM
If I add another step I will have to rip it all apart as the depth isn't deep enough. My steps would be 5.33" high each (16" Divided by 3). Anyone know if there is any sort of precast stones that have this height? All I see typically is around 7"
#4
09-06-12, 08:38 AM
Group Moderator
5.33" is extremely specific. I know pavers do come in different thicknesses but I doubt you will be lucky enough to hit 5.3". For patios most that I use are 2 3/8" thick. I suppose you could mortar them together like bricks instead of dry stacking and let the mortar thickness make up the difference you need.
The approach I've come up with is to partially entomb the existing wall (by partially, I mean I will rip down the top plank only) and this appears doable based on the distance I need to set the first row of retainer wall block forward of the line I want the top row to meet.
The biggest problem with this project is that grading on this side of the house has always been a shambles. The genius builder didn't bother excavating much on this side so there is sadly a slope TOWARDS the house (see below image.) Having said that I have never had a dampness or flooding problem in the basement (perimeter concrete foundation) and perhaps the steep slope in the perpendicular direction makes this a non issue (?)
Nevertheless, I had ideas about digging a trench for the first row that would be level all the way out 6-8' beyond the edge of the deck. This is proving to be a massive pain in the ass (thanks to a 45 degree slope making machine excavation impossible, and an ungodly amount of roots from neighboring trees making shoveling a real joy.) You can see my progress in the below image.
In the below image, you can also see a pier for the deck that is well above the elevation of the concrete foundation of the house. My plan is to leave this as-is with the retaining wall going right smack behind it (behind relative to the image below) and filling between the retainer wall and the pier with either dirt or gravel.
My basic questions are:
1) Is it of any importance for the first row of the retaining wall to be a single flat row? Or can I "step up" every ~6 or so feet away from the house to reduce the amount of trenching needed? (I'm already down about 3 feet on the far end, and would have to go another 18" or so to get it level all the way out)
2) Is it important to further excavate this [B]entire[/B] area so there is a slope away from the foundation ALL the way up and down this side of the house? Presently there is only a slope away starting at about the staircase landing and down (to the right in the image below), above this (to the left in the image) it is sloping towards the house. One idea I had is to "box out" with more retaining wall about 6 feet further out than the deck piers, this would of course require much more excavation. Worth doing? If so, what should I do with that top-most deck pier which is much higher elevation than anything around it would become... leave it as an island? wrap it with retaining wall blocks?
3) Any issues with entombing the bottom half of the existing wooden retaining wall? I thought it would be best to do this to avoid an avalanche... the vertical 4x4 posts are set in concrete, but this could be pulled out with some effort I'd imagine.
Here is a video of the digging I've been doing (about 2.5 hours over the course of the day), so you can get an idea for what I'm talking about: [url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Taj4yLb1chc]digging - YouTube[/url]
Some appendix notes:
[LIST]
[*]The height of the retainer wall as-planned would be just on 4ft
[*]The reason the existing wooden wall is rotting is a bad drainage pipe behind it, which I have repaired. Even so, I do not find the wood particularly appealing which is largely the reason for going to concrete blocks.
[/LIST]